Break point: serving up a quick fire rally with the WTA tour’s stars

It’s all guns blazing in the heat of Wimbledon as we caught up with three women on route to the top of women’s tennis, finding out what keeps them striving and hungry for more!

Elina Svitolina

Elina Svitolina

What keeps you motivated?

I’ve had the competitive spirit and the desire to win since childhood. That’s why I don’t have any problems with personal motivation. My dislike of losing matches is even stronger than the love of triumphs. Thus, I always strive for self-development in order to win more.

What’s been your toughest challenge and how did you overcome it?

For now, my toughest challenge is to constantly develop and improve both as a player and a personality. I try to improve my tennis and to develop my personality off the court. Tennis is not my whole of my life and it is important for me to become a rounded person.

What does success look like to you?

Success is just an interim result of one’s hard work. If you are successful, then you perform properly and correctly. But it is also important to keep working. For me, self-development is much more important than the success itself. Thus, I think that success is the part of my work, but not its aim.

What’s your vision for your career?

I’ve always had only maximal goals during my entire career. They have not changed. I want to win grand slams and to become the world number one. These are the primary goals. I also want to stay healthy and avoid ending my career because of injuries.

Do you have a life mantra?

Carpe Diem

Wang Qiang

Wang Qiang

What keeps you motivated?

I keep telling myself never to give up. The sense of accomplishment I get when I try my best to play out all my weapons on court helps a great deal.

What’s been your toughest challenge and how did you overcome it?

The biggest challenge comes from myself. Sometimes you have to do something you don’t like and work really hard to overcome it.

What does success look like to you?

If I could be happy every day, this is success.

What’s your vision for your career?

To be grand slam champion.

Do you have a life mantra?

Life does not have a mantra.

Katie Boulter

Katie Boulter

What keeps you motivated?

To be honest, it’s something that gets built up inside you: as a competitor, I love the challenge and I love the fight. On the court, that energy is what I live for, so the inspiration comes from within.

What’s been your toughest challenge and how did you overcome it?

A lot of people have had it much worse than me, but in 2016 I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and that did have a big impact. I struggled to get out of bed in the morning and I couldn’t do any more exercise than a short walk down the road. It’s something I still have to manage today – you just have to learn to live with it.

What does success look like to you?

At this stage, success to me is simply improving day-on-day. There is a lot, a lot of work to be done to get to where I want to be, but it’s all about doing the right things on the practice court and in the gym; if I do that, I know I’ll be happy with the end result.

What’s your vision for your career?

Well it goes without saying that long term I’m focussed on winning grand slams, and eventually being considered one of the world’s best. But, for now, it’s all about taking one day at a time, and not looking too far ahead. If you look at the best players, their careers are about so much more than on-court success, and that’s massive for me too.

Do you have a life mantra?

I’m not usually into this sort of cliché but I heard one once which has stuck with me ever since: “Excellence is perseverance in disguise.”

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